Nibbles – Page 481 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

July 17, 2007July 17, 2007

Restoring the American chestnut

A grant allows American chestnuts to survive, as hybrids with the Chinese species.

July 16, 2007July 16, 2007

Ratatouille

Latest chinese dish is an agrobiodiversity bridge too far: another option.

Adding value to coffee

Civet cat crap creates celebrated cup of coffee.

July 16, 2007July 16, 2007

Date tissue culture

Man has in vitro plan for Iraqi dates.

July 15, 2007July 15, 2007

Hemp grower persecuted

A farmer who wanted to diversify into hemp is persecuted by authority.

1. A North Macedonian professor’s 15-year rescue mission for landraces and crops surviving only in remote villages. Why bother? Stay tuned…
2. Ancient grapevines in Tigray represent a unique genetic lineage with potential value for breeding varieties adapted to dryland conditions.
3. Hawai’i Public Radio checks in on Maui’s coconut genebank. Useful to breed varieties adapted to really wet conditions, presumably.
4. The Cayman Islands are also hoarding coconuts, along with lots of tasty fruits.
5. A USD 400,000 boost from Taiwan for the Eswatini national genebank. Indigenous vegetables get much-needed love.
6. A regional survey of 25 orphan crops across 13 Latin American countries finds quinoa and amaranth well-catalogued, but characterization budgets are the real bottleneck. Collecting and conserving in genebanks is great, but not enough.
7. South Korea puts 330,000 seed accessions under “double lock”, hedging against both climate change and war. Conserving in one place is not enough.
8. FAO warns that nearly a third of the world can’t afford the USD 4.28 a day that a healthy diet costs — nearly three billion people, and rising. That’s why we need al the above, I guess.
Published on July 28, 2026